Finding Your Way Back Home
by Darla's-Fallen-Angel
Summary: With Leo leaving and now after the death of Paige, how much more can Piper take? How much more can any of them handle before going over the edge? And will Leo realize the err of his ways and come back? ~Chapter 1 is up~ Please R&R!
1. Prologue

Finding Your Way Back Home

Prologue

Piper and Leo…soul mates…the perfect couple. Until everything went wrong; Leo made his final decision…chose his work over his love for Piper and left, becoming an Elder. Piper was alone…watching her sisters find lives…loves. She had only them…until another tragedy crossed her path, the death of her youngest sister, Paige. The power of four is broken…how will the sisters cope? They only have each other now…and their whitelighter Chris…who has been acting very distant lately, just when his charges need him the most. And Leo…watching it all from 'up there' unable to help…ease their pain. 

            How much grief can a person handle before being pushed to the breaking point? How much loneliness…depression…fear? Fear of the past…fear of the future. And who will pick up the pieces this time? When everything in your world crumbles and the people you depend on the most leave you, how can you move on…rise up…overcome. And find your way home to the person you should have been with all along. 

            This is a story about discovery…growth…healing…and most of all, true love. All of the sisters have a long way to go before they can achieve these things…a lot of inner searching…they need to learn more about themselves and each other before they can come to terms with what's happened. And Piper has the farthest to go…can she…can they all…over come…and defeat their most lethal demon yet…themselves. 


	2. The Assignment

**Finding Your Way Back Home**

**Chapter One "The Assignment"**

Piper~

            I can't believe I'm at Paige's funeral. Paige was the youngest, she shouldn't have died, we only met her two years ago, and now she's gone. Tears prick my eyes, but I wipe them away before they fall. I have to be strong for my sisters; for Phoebe mostly, she was devastated when the Source killed Paige. I feel so bad for her, I know exactly how she feels, she has the same lost, sad look in her eyes that I did after Prue died. But Prue's back now, I almost wish  she wasn't and I hate myself for even thinking that but, she's just not the same, she's completely changed since Leo brought her back, I wonder if she still wishes she was dead. If only Leo could bring Paige back too, but it was just a one time thing; we needed the power of four to defeat the Source and now that he's gone, Leo isn't allowed to just resurrect Paige because we ask him too. 

            It's not like he would anyway, he'd never do anything if his precious _Elders _forbid it. Bitterness and anger rises in my throat but I force it back down. This is Paige's funeral, how dare I even think of him? I should be mourning Paige, comforting Phoebe, doing the million other things that a good big sister would be doing; not thinking about my husband…ex-husband.

            The funeral ends and everyone walks out of the church, I see Leo leaning against a tree outside, waiting. My heat skips a beat hoping he's waiting for me and for a moment our eyes lock, and all of this melts away, Paige's death, how much Prue's changed, everything, for one fleeting moment his eyes are locked on mine and it's just me and him, like it used to be. He lowers his eyes, looking almost guilty and I wonder if I should walk over to him or wait for him to come to me. I'm still mad at him for what he did, but there's a part of me that just can't give up on this, on us quite yet. 

            It's been 6 months since I've seen him, of course he looks exactly the same, but as he walks slowly over to me I can't help but wonder if I look any different to him, if he thinks about me when he's 'up there'.

            "Hi Leo" say, cringing at how my voice cracks when I say his name. He just nods a hello and turns to Chris, "I need to talk to you. Whitelighter stuff" Leo tells him and they walk off to the side. New tears spill down my cheeks and I don't even bother to wipe them away this time. Leo didn't come to see me at all, he didn't even say anything about Paige, he just came on an Elder assignment. I don't know why I even got my hopes up this time.

Leo~

            Piper looks so beautiful, even when she's crying, and I know it's because of me, lately it's always because of me. I didn't even want to come back here, I didn't want to see her again, it's just too hard. I can't be indifferent when I'm around her, all I want to do is tell her that I love her and I want to come home, but I can't, I made my choice, and most of the time I think it was the right one,  but there's just something about her that makes me question it…question everything. I didn't want to come back, I knew I would just end up hurting her more, but I had no choice, I'm on an assignment. 

It's funny, I thought that once I became an Elder I wouldn't have to run errands for them any more, but even Elders have people they have to answer to. I wonder how Chris will react to what I'm about to tell him, the last time I had a chat with him, he blew me up as I orbed away; I guess the kid doesn't like being checked up on.

Chris~

            What could Leo possibly have to tell me that couldn't wait until after the funeral? Unless he's about to send me home, I really don't want to hear it. He's so self important, I'm surprised he'd even come down to earth. If the other Elders hadn't threatened to clip my wings the last time I blew Leo's ass sky high, I'd do it again. I really hate the guy; because of him leaving, not only do I not get to go back to my time, but I get stuck with a bunch of witches with heavy emotional issues and an inherent distrust of anything that has to do with whitelighters or Elders. Thanks Leo. Thanks a lot. Jackass.

            Once we walk a few feet away from the girls, I fix Leo with a cold glare. Uh-oh, judging by the look on his face, it's not going to be good news.

*************

Leo: I came here with a message from the elders.

Chris: I figured that out. So just stop wasting both of our time and tell me what it is. I have three charges I should be looking after right now.

Leo: Well, this concerns them, so listen to me. With the death of Paige, the Elders and I worry about the Charmed Ones emotional well being. They've all been through a lot since they got their powers, but I'm concerned that this might be the thing that breaks them. They've been repressing their emotions the whole time they've been witches and it's affecting their powers. If another Source comes along that's even half as powerful as the last, they might not be able to get their shit together enough to defeat him. You need to talk to them and try to get them to open up about their feelings, about themselves and each other.

Chris: You've got to be kidding me. There's no way in hell I'm going to play psychologist to those three. First of all, I still barely know them and second of all, they don't really trust me. The bottom line is, I'm a whitelighter, not a shrink. I protect them, that's all. 

Leo: Then protect them from themselves! This isn't a request, Chris, it's an order. And by the way, if you did your job and protected them as you say, then Paige would be alive right now, wouldn't she?

Chris: If I remember correctly, I'm not the only one to lose a charge, what about Prue? You know as well as I do that accidents happen, but feeling guilty about a slip up won't benefit anybody. 

Leo: I don't have to get into the Prue thing with you. Are you going to do as I ask or should I clip your wings right now?

Chris: Fine. I'll do it. But I still don't know exactly how I'm supposed to approach this thing. I need a little more direction than 'talk to them'

Leo(looks skyward): I'm being called back up, I'll tell you more when I can, but the other Elders didn't really tell me much more then I've already told you. Tell Piper bye for me.

************

Chris~ 

Well great. Now I have to get these witches to talk about their feelings. This isn't my job, Phoebe will be easy to get to open up, but Piper…might be a challenge and I won't even try with Prue, I might not know them that well, but I know her well enough that if I approach her, she will make it as painful as possible. At least she doesn't have the exploding power to use on me, but I'm sure Piper wouldn't hesitate with it.

Piper~

Leo didn't even say good-bye, he just did his job and left. I wonder what he told Chris, because now he looks even more moapy than usual. But that's not my problem, as far as I'm concerned, we don't even need a whitelighter, we were doing just fine before Leo came along. Nothing was as complicated back then.

Chris~

            I guess I'll coral them all home and tell them there, so when they throw the huge fit that I know is coming, I can at least orb away with out being seen by others if they get too pissed. 

I can't help but roll my eyes as I say "I have a message from Leo, let's all go home and discuss what he told me" Oh great they already look pissed, just wait until I tell them I've been appointed to be the equivalent of their supernatural psychologist.


End file.
